The Secretary of the Power Companies made a significant disclosure concerning providing free electricity to power company staff. On average, 190,000 employees are given free electricity each year, which is worth Rs. 15 billion or Rs. 78,000 per employee annually. The Senate Standing Committee on Energy had its meeting snapped by Senator Mohsin Aziz.
Industry and Domestic Consumption
- His presentation of the Power Division revolved around major numerical details about the electricity sector:
- Industrial demand for electricity stands at 25%, but consumption is continually decreasing.
- During winter, fans contribute approximately 10-11000 megawatts (MW) of load, with peaks reaching up to 11000 MW.
Financial Adjustments and Subsidies
Last year, Rs.244 billion was siphoned off from industrial users for domestic consumers. Additionally, they increased subsidies for twenty-five million consumers using up to four hundred units from Rs.592 billion to Rs.692 billion.
Power Plant Operations and Costs
One important point of concern was that non-operational power plants were a huge financial burden on the system. The Secretary pointed out that even when idle for an entire year, payments still have to be made: “We don’t run these plants because it is very expensive electricity they generate,” he underlined, adding that these ones receive only capacity payments.
IPP Contracts and Payments
According to him, Senator Mohsin Aziz has referred to IPP contracts as ‘monsters,’ yet people suffer because of them. Moreover, Federal Minister for Energy Owais Leghari revealed that their system does not have real-time data. Instead, he said advanced metering could give reliable information and also added that any savings would be returned to the general public should IPP contracts be renegotiated.
Theft and Privatization
According to Leghari, theft will never end unless privatization takes place accompanied by digitalization, Through this, one can rightly say that there are no more free electricities for DISCOs staff other than cash payments, as it was decided. However, the issue is currently under judicial review.
Solar Panels and Off-Grid Solutions
Because electricity is costly, many consumers are looking at alternatives. This year alone, 6,000 MW worth of solar panels were imported, indicating a significant shift towards off-grid solutions.
Legal and Operational Challenges
The IPP contracts are to be reviewed as ordered by the Prime Minister. Most notably, only 85 hours per annum operating with 1845MW of IPP capacity are responsible for Rs. 49 billion in annual payments. High power costs coupled with this inefficiency make them look for alternative energy sources.
The meeting emphasized systemic reforms, improved contract administration, and innovative approaches to addressing these challenges in the energy sector.
